The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
The cost of driver's education programs continues to limit the appeal of traditional driver's education for many new drivers. To reduce driver's education costs, new drivers can take an on-road driving test before taking any lessons (public or private). Afterward taking the on-road driving test, the driving examiner would describe all of the skills and procedures that the new driver needs to improve before the driver could pass the on-road driving test. Thus, the new driver would then only practice those particular skills and procedures identified by the examiner, and then take the test again.
For many new drivers, the above strategy could potentially save hundreds of dollars in private driving school lessons. However, this strategy would also limit the knowledge, skills, abilities and experience of newly-licensed drivers (because they would miss the comprehensive tutelage of traditional driving schools). By focusing only on the skills identified by the driving examiner, a new driver may lack the higher order skills (hazard anticipation, situational awareness, distraction mitigation, etc.) needed for longer-term driving safety. For driver licensing offices, this strategy has resulted in extended service times at licensing offices, and increased stress and crash risk for the driving examiners. For the public at large, the net effect would be a lower quality of newly-licensed drivers on the road.
Driving simulator technology can be implemented as a solution to mitigate driving school costs while also improving driving skills for new drivers. However, although driving simulators for training and assessment have been around for some time, most of these driving simulators have been adapted from costly driving simulation research applications. The cost of these driving simulators remains prohibitive for most licensing offices and driving schools, with the best current driving simulator costing over $75,000. Furthermore, no driving simulation technology currently exists that can be run on a mobile device to provide a driving assessment.